War on Terrorism

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

WASHINGTON, September 30, 2015 — Russian actions are
intensifying the instability in Syria and making the civil war there more
vicious, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said here today.

During a Pentagon news conference, Carter said the Russian
position of supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its
desire to take on extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant represent a contradiction.

“Fighting ISIL without pursuing a parallel political
transition only risks escalating the civil war in Syria – and with it, the very
extremism and instability that Moscow claims to be concerned about and aspire
to fighting,” he said. “So that approach is tantamount … to pouring gasoline on
the fire.”

The secretary restated the American position, saying that a
lasting defeat of ISIL and its terrorist allies can be achieved only in
parallel with a political transition in Syria. “We will continue to insist on
the importance of simultaneously pursuing these two objectives,” he said. “And
I would hope Russia would join us in pursuing these objectives.”

Conversation With Russian Defense Minister

Carter spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu
last week, when Russia’s intent to launch strikes in Syria became apparent.
“During my phone call with Minister Shoigu, I also told him I was prepared to
send a DoD team to meet with Russian defense counterparts, at a location that
we agreed upon, to ensure that we avoid any inadvertent incidents over Syrian
air space,” he said.

But Russian aircraft struck targets around Homs, Syria, this
morning. A Russian officer notified personnel in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad of
the strikes an hour before they launched. No coalition aircraft were in the
region at the time, and Carter said he doubts any ISIL terrorists were in the
area struck.

Russian and coalition officers will meet in the next few
days to “deconflict” air operations. The meeting will allow a flow of
information between coalition forces and Russian elements to maintain the
safety of U.S. personnel in the region, Carter said.

The meeting also will be an opportunity to ensure that any
additional Russian actions do not interfere with the coalition’s efforts to
degrade and defeat ISIL, he added.

Mission Against ISIL Will Continue

The secretary stressed that the more-than-60-nation
coalition is battling ISIL “across the physical, virtual and ideological battle
space,” conducting more than 7,100 air strikes at ISIL’s operational core and
logistics arm. “The coalition will continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria
as planned, as we did today, in support of our international mission to degrade
and destroy ISIL,” he said.

Carter said the U.S. talks with the Russians over Syria do
not indicate a lessening of America’s strong condemnation of Russian aggression
in Ukraine, nor do they change U.S. sanctions and security support in response
to those destabilizing actions.

“On that subject, the facts remain: If Russia wants to end
its international isolation and be considered a global power, it must stop its
aggression in eastern Ukraine and its occupation and attempted annexation of
Crimea, and live up to its commitments under the Minsk agreement,” he said.

SOUTHWEST ASIA, September 30, 2015 — Yesterday, U.S. and
coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation
Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting
that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

-- Tal Afar, two airstrikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and
destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle and an ISIL vehicle.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent
Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat
they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community.
The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist
group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the
United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include
the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Cities are vital partners in international efforts to build
social cohesion and resilience to violent extremism.Local communities and authorities are the
most credible and persuasive voices to challenge violent extremism in all of
its forms and manifestations in their local contexts.While many cities and local authorities are
developing innovative responses to address this challenge, no systematic efforts
are in place to share experiences, pool resources and build a community of
cities to inspire local action on a global scale.

“The Strong Cities Network will serve as a vital tool to
strengthen capacity-building and improve collaboration,” said Attorney General
Loretta E. Lynch.“As we continue to
counter a range of domestic and global terror threats, this innovative platform
will enable cities to learn from one another, to develop best practices and to
build social cohesion and community resilience here at home and around the
world.”

The Strong Cities Network (SCN)– which launches September 29th at the United
Nations – will empower municipal bodies to fill this gap while working with
civil society and safeguarding the rights of local citizens and communities.

The SCN will strengthen strategic planning and practices to
address violent extremism in all its forms by fostering collaboration among
cities, municipalities and other sub-national authorities.

“To counter violent extremism we need determined action at
all levels of governance,” said Governing Mayor Stian Berger Røsland of Oslo
while commenting on their participation in the SCN.“To succeed, we must coordinate our efforts
and cooperate across borders.The Strong
Cities Network will enable cities across the globe pool our resources,
knowledge and best practices together and thus leave us standing stronger in
the fight against one of the greatest threats to modern society.”

The SCN will connect cities, city-level practitioners and
the communities they represent through a series of workshops, trainings and
sustained city partnerships.Network
participants will also contribute to and benefit from an online repository of
municipal-level good practices and web-based training modules and will be
eligible for grants supporting innovative, local initiatives and strategies
that will contribute to building social cohesion and resilience to violent
extremism.

The SCN will include an International Steering Committee of
approximately 25 cities and other sub-national entities from different regions
that will provide the SCN with its strategic direction.The SCN will also convene an International
Advisory Board, which includes representatives from relevant city-focused
networks, to help ensure SCN builds upon their work.It will be run by the Institute for Strategic
Dialogue (ISD), a leading international “think-and-do” tank with a
long-standing track record of working to prevent violent extremism:

“The SCN provides a unique new opportunity to apply our
collective lessons in preventing violent extremism in support of local
communities and authorities around the world”, said CEO Sasha Havlicek of
ISD.“We look forward to developing this
international platform for joint innovation to impact this pressing challenge.”

“It is with great conviction that Montréal has agreed to
join the Strong Cities Network founders,” said the Honorable Mayor Denis
Coderre of Montreal.“This global
network is designed to build on community-based approaches to address violent
extremism, promote openness and vigilance and expand upon local initiatives
like Montréal’s Mayors’ International Observatory on Living Together.I am delighted that through the Strong Cities
Network, the City of Montréal will more actively share information and best
practices with a global network of leaders on critical issues facing our
communities.”

The Strong Cities Network will launch on Sept. 29, from 4:00
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT, following the Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and
Violent Extremism.Welcoming remarks
will be offered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, who
will also introduce a Keynote address by U.S. Attorney General Lynch.Following this event, the Strong Cities
International Steering Committee, consisting of approximately 25 mayors and
other leaders from cities and other sub-national entities from around the
globe, will hold its inaugural meeting on Sept. 30, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. EDT.